By Brian Whitmore
If Alyaksandr Lukashenka ever sends Belarusian troops to join Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, there is a pretty good chance that they could end up fighting against other Belarusians.
That is because hundreds of Belarusian volunteers have already joined a paramilitary group in Ukraine called the Kastus Kalinouski Battalion, named after the nineteenth century Belarusian leader of an uprising against the Russian Empire. Hundreds more have expressed interest in joining and the group is using its Telegram channel to recruit fighters.
In a post on March 21, the group declared: “the voice of conscience called us to fight, because we could not be on the sidelines when fraternal Ukrainian people were being killed. Today the fate of our people is being forged in battles with the Moscow aggressor. With our blood we lay the foundation for freedom and the revival of our Motherland, a successful Belarusian breakthrough in the future.”
On March 26, the group posted a video of its members taking an oath to become part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It has also posted videos showing seized and burned out Russian tanks. “Here is captured equipment and there is destroyed equipment. There are a lot of trophies,” a fighter says on the video.